The Joy in Pain
by Beanstalks
Summary: Ever wonder why Nurse Joy hopes you return to the Pokemon Center? Read and find out her tagic story of loss and pain. One-shot, complete.


"We've restored your Pokemon to full health," Nurse Joy said to the young trainer warmly. "Hope to see you again."

The trainer - a young boy - took his Pokeballs back and gave her an unnerved look.

"Crazy sadist bitch," the trainer muttered as he left.

The smile slowly faded from Nurse Joy's face. This had happened so many times before. They just didn't understand...

Nurse Joy was a young upstart: new to the world of nursing, a doe-eyed idealist with a smile that could light a room. She had no impure thoughts, she was the very visage of innocence.

One young boy (or was it a girl? It's been so long...No, it was a boy. She could never forget him) entered her Center. He had soft features and summer clothes.

It was a perfectly normal day - cloudy, but still great travelling weather.

"We've restored your Pokemon to full health!" he said with her great smile. "Have a good day!"

"Thank you!" he said happily.

He couldn't have been more than 7, too young for a journey. Nevertheless, he and his Rattata walked out of the Center and fearlessly into the wild.

This wasn't new: Joy would see trainers just waltz in and out of the Center. They would go out into the forests or seas or what have you, feeling invincible. They thought their Pokemon would always protect them.

Sometimes they couldn't...

Nurse Joy was cleaning up the Pokemon Center. It was getting late and there were less and less trainers around. She saw it the perfect time to do inventory with her buddy, Nurse Yazmine Joy, gossip, or play with the Chansey.

Two Officer Jennys ran in, each holding one end of a stretcher.

"Nurse Joy, we have an emergency!" The first Jenny called. "Come quick!"

Nurse Joy ran towards the stretcher. "What is it?" she asked. She looked at the stretcher and saw something that would horrify her: that young seven-year-old boy and his Rattata.

_No..._ How could this have happened? Trainers never get hurt! Especially kids, especially such a young kid like him.

Nurse joy stifled a scream. She couldn't look away.

Nurse Yazmine Joy ran over and started talking to the boy. Clearly this wasn't something she hadn't handled before.

Hours had past.

Nurse Joy had healed Rattata up. A sprained ankle and a few stitches, but it would be okay. Pokemon were resiliant like that.

"Don't worry," she said to the Pokemon, asleep in an bed. "I'm sure your trainer will be all right."

One Officer Jenny walked over towards her and said, "Is Rattata alright?"

"Yes, she's alright. How's the boy."

"Not doing too good."

"What happened to him, may I ask?"

"Attacked by a Scyther."

"Why would a Pokemon attack a human?" except for a few accidents, Nurse Joy wasn't used to things like this. "Pokemon protect their trainers!"

"It's not the Pokemon's fault," Jenny assured her. "Sometimes trainers get reckless. They start own happy, thinking they can take on the world with their Pokemon."

"Go on..."

"Then they venture to a place with Pokemon that are too strong for them. Their Pokemon are defeated and...Sometimes they...can't run away fast enough."

Tears swelled up in Joys eyes. _This cannot be! _she thought. _This world is a wonderful, wonderful place! How could anything like this happen?_

"Daniel there thought his Rattata was the world," Jenny went on. "He thought it could take on anything.

"So he went deep into the forest and encountered a Scyther. They're rare here, he couldn't have expected it.

"Whether he decided to fight or failed to run away is unknown. But whatever his choice, Syther made quick work of Rattata."

"Who found him?" Joy asked. Her tears were blurring her vision.

"Luckily I came across him. Not the first time I've seen someone hurt like that."

"So...you're used to it?"

"Oh, Arceus, _no_! You've seen that one, it forever burns in your mind. Just once and you can never recover. Trust me, it never gets any easier."

"It doesn't happen a lot, does it?"

"A few times. It rarely gets this bad, however, it happens."

"So I might never see this again."

"Honey, you will," Jenny said sternly. "I'm sorry, Nurse Joy, but you're going to have to get used to this, it's part of the job."

Nurse Yazmine Joy entered the room and put her hand on Nurse Joy's arm.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Norse Joy," she said.

"Is he okay?" Joy begged. "Tell me he is!"

"We called a human doctor from across the city. We tried our best to help him the way we would help Pokemon: with the utmost care and precision. We tried out best-"

"Is he okay?"

"I'm sorry..."

Nurse Joy burst into tears. Nurse Yazmine wrapped her around her arms.

"I'll go get her some coffee," Officer Jenny said. Nurse Yazmine nodded and Jenny walked out.

"Are you alright?" Nurse Yazmine asked her after a few minutes.

Was she alright? Her world has crashed down before her in a few hours. The world was not the happy, cheery place she imagined it would pain and suffering were around the corner. And it struck anyone. Not just Pokemon, who were resiliant and often didn't mind a few scratches. But to innocent children.

And she would be witnessing this in the future. Unable to stop it, unable to predict when.

"Helping people has been my dream," Joy said finally. "But knowing what could happen, I think I should just quit."

"No."

"Just quit and hide from this world. This ugly world of pain and..."

"Just because you can't help some people, doesn't mean you can't help the rest."

That's right. She was a nurse, after all. She could help so many people! It was selfish to think of herself, to hide from the world.

She had a dream. No, a_ purpose _in life to help people.

And she smiled. She stopped crying.

"Thank you, Yazmine," Nurse Joy said sweetly. "I should be glad that I can help so many others, brighten their day, save lives..."

That Joy was dead now. Replaced with a hollow, listless Nurse Joy.

Years went be and every incident, no matter how rare it would happen, took its toll. She was jaded, emotionally cold to the world around her.

Sure, she smiled on the outside. She was a mess on the inside, but refused to show it.

_These kids deserve to be in the world I lived in,_ she thought to herself. _A world of happiness and innocence. I can't take it away from them yet, like it was Taken from me. Not yet, they're too young._

Of course she got to help Pokemon, that was the best part of the job. But it was still the hardest job in the world, knowing any second a loyal patron and Pokemon lover would get hurt. Knowing that she would eventually encounter another Daniel.

She was a hollow shell. Empty and broken on the inside, but bright and sunny on the outside.

_Just like the world._

And that trainer, that rude trainer! How _dare _he insult her, even after she warned him about the dangers outside her Center.

Her Center was a sanctuary to the dark world around her; a sanctuary where no one got hurt, where everybody could be around her and safe.

If only it would last.

Many Nurse Joys are like this. They're bright, vibrant idealists with their whole life ahead of him. Sure, they try to kid themselves and tell themselves that it's their mission in life to help and care for others. But as time wears on, they become less and less like living beings and more like souless dolls. They lost their innocence and there was no way to give it back.

But they pretend to be happy for your sake.


End file.
